


Blue

by Moonwanderer



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Friendship/Love, IronStrange, M/M, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 06:25:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15382638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonwanderer/pseuds/Moonwanderer
Summary: Stephen was working with golden spells, but those butterflies turned out to be blue.Can be seen as a standalone, or together with "Butterfly".





	Blue

**Author's Note:**

> I am not a native speaker, so mistakes may be found.  
> I do not own the characters, etc., etc.,...

Magic is golden, like the flames of the Sun; and Time has the green of the never-dying pines; but those butterflies which turned out from the blast were shining blue.

The world has come to an end, and Stephen was not happy about it, thus he made every thing possible to prevent it from happening. „Every thing” also meant teaming up with an asshole and his kid and after that, with even more assholes. The life of the Protector of the Time Stone is hard. By the time the Guardians and Iron Man were in a heated arguament, Stephen himself decided to do something useful and tried to have a look at their chances in the future.

Oh, man, it seemed a better idea than it turned out! The first few hundred options ended so abruptly and cruelly, he could hardly believe were over so soon. Being the one who was responsible for the Time Stone made him the main target, hence he suffered the most gruesome and painful deaths of all. By the end of the 2000th option, he started to regret his choice and was ready to break the loop. And then things changed.

Thanos was at him, as usual, and he could do nothing but prepare to die again, when a blue blast came out of nowhere, and Tony Stark was between him and his demise. He could not prevent the end just postpone it, but it was a change and an interesting one, which shook Stephen to the core and made him going on.

He could not forget how his heart skipped a beat, when he saw that shining blue light in the darkest hour of his life, and as he arrived at the new future, he reached out for the man wielding it. And Tony Stark answered his plea.

It didn’t magically solve their problems, but it was a start- and an interesting one. They teamed up for real. And the future started to change. Sometimes they could last more than he first imagined. Sometimes they even had a chance. Sometimes he didn’t have to die so soon. And Tony was beside him all along.

He aided Stephen and protected him, sacrificed himself and everything dear to protect his life in every possible way. And Stephen kept himself fixed on that blue light and started to believe in the future.

It did not get easier. It did not get less painful either. But he felt determination growing stronger as the options flew by. Some of them ended just as abruptly as at the beginning.

But there came times when they made it out alive from that damn place. Tony and him had time to forge a bond, to be friends. And there were times, when they had time to be more.

Every future, however, had a dark and seemingly unescapable end, with them losing, sometimes even more than „just” half of the Universe. They tried to fight, they tried to run, they tried to bargain, to beg, to trick, but Thanos found them in the end, and it was over again.

By the end of the 7th milllion, he was killed in so many ways, he didn’t bother to count anymore. And there was not a single one of them, which held a chance of victory. But Stephen, he no longer feared.

For every future he had to live through, he was not alone. He got to know Tony Stark, his savior; the way the man thought, the way he fought, the way he loved. Tony Stark, the man of iron, was true to his name. When everything seemed hopeless, he was the one, who never gave up. He always had a plan, had a way, had another trick to use. And the sorcerer realised, that behind the big mouth and seemingly carefree nature, the man deeply cared. He was concerned of the fate of others, and he tried so hard to solve all the problems. That he was selfless and smart and insecure, and so damn easy to love.

They were no longer strangers, but a team, and they planned and they fought and they fell, over and over again. The future seemed darker than before, with all those possible happy memories lost every time, but that ray of blue light was always there, shining through the darkness surrounding them. And it was more than just a shimmering light. It gave Stephen hope; it strengthened his faith. It gave him courage to keep going on.

And by the time they reached the magical 10 million, for the first time since the beginning, they won. Thanos got defeated, the stones protected, but Tony was lost during the process.

So Stephen shook his head and carried on. There came other times, other possibilities which held victory, but they always had a price, a price Stephen was not willing to pay. He could do it when he just started the loop but now Tony was more than just an ally- he became the reason to win this fight. Not for the world, or the „greater good”, but for Stephen, who refused to lose him now, everything, but _him_ , his only light.

And after bargaining and endless loops of suffering, finally there came a chance. A chance, thin and fragile, just like a ray of blue light, but the only chance so far, which Stephen would consent.

He watched over carefully, memorizing the ways and ended the loop.

As he fell on the ground, his eyes started to search for the only thing that mattered, the blue light, his lifeline. His panicked gaze met warm brown eyes, and he felt those strong hands on his arm again.

"How many did you see?" It was a question easy to answer.

"14000605."

"How many did we win?" Tony asked-again.

And Stephen answered without a beat.

"One."

The endgame started and he was ready to act, ready to fight, ready to die. Thanos found him and they started their battle, but he had his faith in his love, he had his faith in his light. Death came upon him in the shape of a heavy blast of energy, but instead of panicking, Stephen found himself smiling in triumph.

This was their way to win the fight without losing the light of faith, so he just raised his hands and turned that blast into a swarm of butteflies blue.

**Author's Note:**

> Please, feel free to leave a comment!  
> Negative comments or comments of displeasure are also welcome, you can help me improve by pointing out my mistakes.


End file.
